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Microsoft aims to simplify switching language in Windows 8

Company looks to ease headaches of localised software

Microsoft has revealed that it will allow users to download and install their own languages for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

In a post to the Building Windows 8 blog, Windows International program manager Ian Hamilton said that the next version of Windows would not only offer pre-configured languages for users, but would also offer additional language options which can be downloaded and installed by users.

With the new feature, the company hopes to ease the process of finding and installing software in specific geographies.

"This means that the language of the PC no longer needs to be a major consideration when deciding on which model to buy," Hamilton explained.

"If the language you want is not preinstalled on the PC you like, you can now install the one you want."

Additionally, Windows 8 will aim to simplify the process of switching between languages on a single PC. The new operating system will allow users to run multiple languages and switch between languages on the fly.

Windows 8 will also allow for languages to specified for each account, allowing for the display language to change when a new user signs on.

Microsoft believes that the feature will prove particularly popular in areas such as the US and Western Europe, where immigration trends have in many cases led to households where two or more languages are spoken.

"Feedback showed that customers loved having a Spanish language PC, but what they really needed was Spanish and English, and the ability to switch between them," Hamilton explained.

"In many cases, parents in the home spoke Spanish, and their children were speaking English."

The language updates come as Microsoft continues to prepare Windows 8 for its final release later this year. The operating system is scheduled to begin its first public trial phase next week.